Innervation of the umbilical vessels

Summary Umbilical vessels of guinea-pig fetuses were studied shortly before birth. In all umbilical cords investigated an innervation of the umbilical vessels is lacking. The intrafetal parts of the umbilical vessels on the other hand are richly innervated. A marked difference in the amount of nerve fibres and the pattern of innervation is found between artery and vein. The artery is supplied by a dense nerve plexus which spins around the media and which originates from nerve bundles within the outer adventitial layers. The comparatively scanty innervation of the vein exhibits a more coarsely meshed net pattern. The nerve bundles in the vein exhibit a close affinity to the vasa vasorum.Number and type of the close contacts between the muscle cells are different in the various sections of the umbilical vessels. Similar to the distribution of nerves they are almost absent in the vessels of the umbilical cord, numerously, however, in the intrafetal parts. Contrary to the innervation, the close contacts in the vein are developed more numerously and more broadly than in the corresponding artery.     

Blood vessels of the hypophysis]

The construction of the intraorganic vessels of the hypophysis was studied by different injectional methods in cats and partly in dogs. The obtained data confirmed the portal microcirculation in the hypophysis of the animals under investigation. Anatomical and some experimental data speak in favour of the blood flow direction in the portal system from the medial eminence towards the anterior part of the adenohypophysis. The capillaries of the portal system were demonstrated to anastomose with arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and with the caudal parts of the neurohypophysis. The experiments with intravital accumulation of the trypan blue revealed macrophagal activity of the perivascular connective tissue elements of the portal system. An attempt was made to objectively analyze the capillary architectonics of the hypophysis portal system. The obtained data on its peculiar features are discussed in connection with the capillary construction and peculiarities of the metabolism of the hypothalmic neurosecretory nuclei.     

Adrenergic innervation of the umbilical vessels

Summary The intra- and extrafetal portions of the umbilical vessels in the guinea-pig and the umbilical cord of man, mouse and rabbit have been investigated by means of the Falck-Hillarp method for the fluorescence microscopical demonstration of catecholamines.The umbilical cord was found to be devoid of nerves in all species investigated. Adrenergic nerves are present only in the immediate vicinity of the umbilicus.The intrafetal portions of the umbilical artery and umbilical vein receive adrenergic nerves, the distribution pattern of which is different for each vessel. In the guinea-pig the ductus venosus is an intrahepatic branch of the vena umbilicalis. No adrenergically innervated sphincter has been detected in the initial segment of the ductus venosus. Regional variations in the pattern of innervation of the intrafetal portion of the umbilical vein are paralleled by regional differences in the construction pattern of the vessel's wall. Regional differences in the noradrenaline concentration (measured by fluorometry) which correspond to the fluorescence microscopical findings have been detected in umbilical vessels: low noradrenaline content of the umbilical cord, high concentrations in the intrafetal sections of the umbilical vessels. The noradrenaline concentration of the guinea-pig umbilical artery is three times that of the umbilical vein.Supported by the Joachim Jungius-Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Hamburg.For continuous advice and constructive criticism I am indebted to Prof. Dr. Dr. E. Horstmann.     

Intralobular lymphatic vessels and their relationship to blood vessels in the mouse thymus

Summary The spatial distribution and fine structure of the lymphatic vessels within the thymic lobules of normal and hydrocortisone-injected mice were studied by light- and electron microscopy. The lymphatic vessels of the cortex and medulla of normal thymus are irregularly shaped spaces closely associated with branches of the intralobular artery and vein. The overall distribution of these vessels in the greatly involuted thymus of hydrocortisone-treated mice is essentially the same as in the normal thymus. The wall of the lymphatic vessels consists of only a layer of endothelial cells supported by underlying reticular cells. The luminal surface of the endothelial cell is smooth, but trabecular processes are often seen. There are three morphological types of intercellular contacts between contiguous cells, namely, end-to-end, overlapping and interdigitating. The lymphatic vessel has anchoring filaments and collagen fibrils, but a basal lamina is either absent, or if present, is discontinuous. This is in contrast to the continuous basal lamina of the venule. The perivascular space surrounding the postcapillary venule opens into a terminal lymphatic vessel at the cortico-medullary junction and in the medulla. Lymphocytes are seen penetrating the lymphatic endothelium, particularly in acutely involuted thymuses. These findings suggest that the intralobular lymphatic vessels may originate from the vacuities that surround the postcapillary venules, and the lymphatic system may function as a pathway for the migration of lymphocytes into or out of the lymphatic circulation.     

The fine structure of cephalopod blood vessels II. The vessels of the nervous system

Summary Blood vessels of the perioesophageal nerve ganglia (brain) of Octopus vulgaris and the stellate ganglia of Sepia officinalis are described. The vessels have an incomplete endothelium, a complete basement membrane and a complete investment of pericytes. The pericytes are joined by specialised membrane junctions but these are not tight junctions. The main type of neuron/vessel arrangement is one where there is a collagen-filled space between the pericytes and the surrounding glial cells. Axons or neurons are sometimes applied directly to the vessel pericytes and in the neuropil, pericytes contact glial cells that ensheath bundles of axons. Blood spaces between neurons are also present.We would like thank Professor J. Z. Young and Dr. E. G. Gray for encouragement and advice, Mrs. Jane Astafiev for drawing Fig. 11, Mr. S. Waterman for photographic assistance and Miss Cheryl Martin for secretarial and other assistance.